Winchester RANGER ONE is specifically marketed to law enforcement use.

Winchester has just announced the release of their new RANGER® ONE™ ammunition specifically tailored for law enforcement users. RANGER ONE ammunition line is a part of Winchester’s commitment to advance ammunition quality and performance through modern technology-driven manufacturing practices. The RANGER ONE ammunition incorporate the latest technology using bonded bullets for superior performance. In addition, these new bullets will feature a proprietary rigid, fluid directing, polymer insert in the hollow point cavity. This innovative design is marketed as advancing the bullet’s expansion upon impact, while reducing the adverse effects of intermediate barriers to the target, such as, drywall or clothing.

Winchester has been producing quality ammunition for 150 years, and still remains a top competitor in the ever-growing and diverse ammunition market. The new RANGER ONE law enforcement ammunition line appears to be another great offering by the iconic company very familiar to many law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and abroad.

The CRKT Foresight™ has been a very impressive knife and welcomed addition to our every day carry.

Famed knife maker Ken Onion designed the impressive Foresight folding knife for Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT). The Foresight assumes a rather muted appearance in contrasting shades of black, but makes a bold introduction with its striking curves, impressive features, and high quality craftsmanship and materials. Optional razor or half-serrated blade edges give users the most popular choices to appease preference, and the amazingly smooth action of the Foresight will absolutely amaze you.

The CRKT Foresight™ is an impressive everyday carry (EDC) knife, form-fitted to maximize the grip of the user. The addition of CRKT’s highly touted IKBS™ ball-bearing pivoting system ensures each opening is super smooth with a definitive lockout of the blade. Ken Onion was the youngest knife maker in history to be added to the Blade Magazine Hall of Fame back in 2008, and he has a long list of amazing knives under his belt. The Foresight may just rise above the rest as one of his best creations, and a knife offering strong challenges for any competitor.

The FNS™ 40 Long Slide is the pistol at the center of the controversy.

The Baltimore County, MD Police Department has reported accidental discharges with their duty-issued FNS-40 Long Slide pistols. The reports are concerning, and appear to involve a mechanical issue of some kind, allowing the pistols to discharge when inadvertently bumped, or when being holstered or unholstered. Perhaps even more dangerous, the report advised the pistols may not fire at all when the trigger is pulled. The problem was identified and documented with at least (9) pistols, and included at least one incident where an officer was injured from the discharge.

Fabrique Nationale (FN) is one of the world’s most successful and respected firearms manufacturers. FN has produced dozens of firearms for militaries, law enforcement agencies, and civilian shooters for over 100 years. These firearms have been used in everything from combat to simple recreational target shooting. A firearms company does not become as successful as FN without producing superior products.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is merely an informational news publication. Nothing within this article should be construed as being a definitive statement on the reliability of FN firearms, or the FNS-40 Long Slide pistols in particular. BlueSheepdog has not conducted any independent testing of the FNS-40 Long Slide to confirm or deny the reports of malfunctions. As such, readers are encouraged to simply consider the reports in this article as informational only, and make their own judgments.

Winchester launched their new USA Ready training and competition ammunition at SHOT Show 2019. The new USA Ready ammunition is designed to give shooters a higher class of ammunition for recreational purposes and practice. Winchester has targeted many of the most popular handgun and rifle calibers for the USA Ready release.

Typically practice or training ammunition has been manufactured to be just good enough to be reliable, and moderately accurate. It appears Winchester has decided to up the game with this market of ammunition, and offer shooters a better product at competitive prices. The USA Ready ammunition has been manufactured with premium components, to provide shooters a better performance from their ammunition. Winchester specifically mentions competition shooters with their USA Ready press release. This indicates Winchester had designed USA Ready ammunition to rise above traditional basic training ammunition, to provide a more accurate and reliable performance for those who measure victory over defeat in fractions of inches and seconds.

C-Products Defense (CPD), a leader in rifle and pistol magazine manufacturing, released the new DURAMAG™ AR-15 magazine at SHOT Show 2019. The new DURAMAG magazine is an all steel AR-15 magazine with several upgrades specifically implemented to compete with the proliferation of polymer magazines. Quite frankly, I’m surprised it has taken so long for a magazine manufacturer to delve deeper into improving metal magazine construction, and this lack of innovation has led many to switch to polymer magazines. Despite the popularity of polymer magazines, like the extremely successful Magpul magazines, this news should pique interest from die-hard metal magazine users.

The original AR-15 (and military M-16) magazines were pressed aluminum magazines, designed to withstand rigorous military standards and conditions. The originals were made from aluminum since aluminum oxide is immediately formed upon contact with air creating a solid anti-corrosion surface prolonging magazine life. That original AR-15 magazine design was proven to be durable, but issues with the original cartridge followers without anti-tilt designs caused numerous misfeeds. Despite a niche of steel magazines for decades, their heavier weight and potential to rust has always been a strong reservation. The new CPD DURAMAG may completely invigorate the metal magazine narrative.

The Aimpoint ACRO P-1 pistol optic was one of the bigger hits of SHOT Show 2019,

Aimpoint announced the arrival of their new ACRO P-1™ red dot pistol optic at SHOT Show 2019. The ACRO P-1 is specifically designed as a pistol optic, but Aimpoint has marketed the optic for a much broader use, including rifles, carbines, and shotguns. The ACRO P-1 is an enclosed box-style optic.

As the original red dot optic manufacturer Aimpoint continues to set the mark for others to follow. With the proliferation of pistol-mounted optics the Aimpoint ACRO P-1™ provides another great option for professional and recreational shooters to consider. We’ll dive into the details of this optic and let you decide whether the ACRO P-1 meets your needs.

SIG Sauer announced the addition of the P320 XCompact to the P320 X-Series pistol line at SHOT Show 2019. The P320 XCompact will bring the features of the P320 X-series pistols to a more concealable handgun. The new P320 XCompact offers shooters several features appealing to the concealed carry group, including a redesigned grip for comfort and better control. These features offer benefits for detectives and administrative officers, or officers preferring a smaller framed duty handgun.

SHOT Show 2019 delivered quite a few new firearm and product announcements, and the new SIG Sauer P320 XCompact is a great addition to an already popular line of handguns. We’ll jump into the features that make this new handgun worth a look.

RMA Armament has just introduced their newest Level III+ rifle-graded ballistic plates, the Model 1090. These new ballistic plates are made from highly resistant but lighter weight polyethylene, and come in a single curve configuration. The use of rifle-grade ballistic plates used to be reserved for military units, and specialized tactical teams (SWAT) for law enforcement. However, in recent decades the advent of high-profile mass killings and police response to active shooter or spree killer incidents has revealed the need for police officers to have rifle-grade ballistic protection available even at the patrol officer level.

Though a relative newcomer to the ballistic armor market, RMA has made a very positive impact on those in need of ballistic protection. Making their ballistic plates to the highest NIJ specifications, RMA Armament has quickly gained the reputation for high quality ballistic plates suitable for SWAT or Patrol officer use. In particular, the use of polyethylene (UHMWP) has been a vital improvement in the overall portability of heavy armor plates, and RMA Armament has mastered its use in armor plates providing excellent protection, while helping to reduce overall weight.

BlueSheepdog has had the opportunity to examine RMA ballistic plates at SHOT Show several times. The quality of construction is top-notch, and staff extremely friendly and helpful, and the tests products clearly indicate a superior product capable of protecting as advertised. Another benefit of using polyethylene is the user gains a bit of bouyancy, where heavy ceramic or steel plates will only add to the weight dragging an officer under the surface should they find themselves in water.

This expansion in red dot/reflex optic popularity is not a simple trend either. Just as red dot/reflex optics provide rifle shooters incredible advantages over traditional iron sights or magnified optics, the same benefits can be found when using a red dot/reflex optic on a pistol. In fact, some say the benefit of a red dot/reflex optic is experienced more when using a pistol over a rifle or shotgun. These optics can provide incredibly faster and more accurate shooting, designed to draw the shooter’s eye to a specific and lit aiming point rather than pairing up a front and rear sight.

The SIG Sauer Academy began operation in 1990 as the SIGARMS Academy. The Academy is dedicated to instructing shooters, armorers, and firearms instructors on SIG Sauer firearms, but also general firearms skills with the shooter’s chosen firearm as well. Though many have believed the Academy will only teach shooting on SIG Sauer firearms, one of the Academy mottos is, “No matter what firearm you shoot, we’ll make you a better shooter, guaranteed.” The Academy provides courses in handguns, shotguns, rifles, precision rifles, and even enhanced tactics.

Strike Industries has just released their Viper Enhanced Pistol Grip for the AR-15 or AR-10 model rifles. The new Viper grip incorporates several design features to enhance the shooter’s grip and comfort while shooting. Of particular note, is the optional grip angle the Viper offers to maximize the individualized preferences of shooters. This is an incredible development and quite frankly something that should have been available for years.

In the last few years Strike Industries has been producing an incredible amount of new products, pushing the envelope on design enhancements, and overall kicking butt in offering products with real-life improvements over simple aesthetic appeal. BlueSheepdog has had the opportunity to review several S.I. products, and each time we have come out on the other end pleased with the products’ design and manufacturing quality, and enhancement of end-user compatibility.